Round Island day gecko  (Phelsuma guentheri)

Range

The Round Island day gecko lives only on Round Island, which is about 20 km northeast of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean (4). It was previously present on mainland Mauritius and Reunion Island before introduced predators like rats and cats and mongooses were introduced and hunted it to local extinction (5) (2).

View a distribution map for this species at UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Habitat

The Round Island day gecko is found on bottle palms, fan palms and Pandanus plants, but due to the destruction of these plants by tropical cyclones and over-grazing by goats and rabbits over the last 150 years, this gecko is also forced to live in lava rock crevices (5) (4). The island has high rainfall and an average temperature of 23 ºC (4).

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